Ram Raja temple

Madhya Pradesh , Bhopal, Bhopal

This beautiful Ram temple, also known as Orchha temple, is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage that receives devotees in large numbers regularly. This is the only temple in the country, where Lord Ram is worshiped as a king in a palace. A Guard of Honour is held everyday and police personnel have been designated as Guards at the temple, like in a palace. The food and other amenities provided to the deity at the temple are befitting a royalty. Armed salutation is provided to Lord Ram. The temple is a palace converted to shrine, during the reign of Madhukar Shah Ju Dev (1554-1592), for the idol bought by his wife from Ayodhya.

Legend

Madhukar Shah Ju Dev (1554-1592) was a devotee of Lord Krishna while his wife Queen Ganesh Kunwari was a devotee of Lord Ram. Once, the queen wanted to go to Ayodhya and her husband Mathura. The adamant queen went alone to Ayodhya promising to return only when she had Lord Ram with Her. She ordered her servants to start building a temple (Chaturbhuj Temple) for Lord Ram. After long penance, Lord Ram appeared in his child form and the queen asked Ram to come with her in to Orchha. According to the Lord's wishes she promised that he would be the King of Orchha. On returning to Orchha, the queen went back to her palace and kept the image of the Lord there as the construction of the temple was still going on. However, Lord Ram got transfixed in the queen's palace itself. Hence, Ram Raja Temple arose is in the queen's palace and not in the Chaturbhuj Temple. Additionally, as promised by the queen, Lord Ram is considered the King of Orchha.

Architecture

Ram Raja shrine a palace turned into a temple and hence the traditional architecture and style cannot be seen in this shrine. It has a fort like exterior wall with dome shaped towers along the summit. The silver door in the front of sanctum is decorated with two elephant heads. On the lintel of the doors is a silver Ganesh and above this is the silver emblem of the sun. In the durbar is the image of Lord Ram, sitting in Padmasan, with the left leg crossed over the right thigh. He wears the turban depicting royalty. Sita Devi wears a crown whereas Lord Lakshman is dressed as a prince. Lord Ram has a sword in his right hand and a shield in the left hand. Mata Durga is also present in Ram Darbar. There are also deities of Lord Hanuman and Sugreev.

Darsan Info

Entrance fee for all monuments/temples of Orchha:
Indian: 10 INR, Foreigner: 250 INR, Camera fee: 25 INR, Videography: 200 INR
The same ticket is applicable for all the monuments in Orchha including Chaturbhuj Temple, Ram Raja Temple, Laxminarayan temple & Cenotaphs.

Darsan Dresscode

Devotees are advised to wear clean and conservative attire

Famous Festival

January - Makara Sankranthi
March - Shivrathri, Holika
April - Ram Navami
July - Rath Yatra
November - Karthik Purnima, Vivah Panchami

Culture

Orchha was the seat of an former princely state of central India, in the Bundelkhand region. It has many forts depicting Mughal and Rajput architecture. Many of them are in ruins but still conveys its rich historic past

Temple Rituals

The priests perform regular pujas and rituals. Aartis and Bhog are presented to the deities. Every day after worship sandalwood's teeka is applied on Lord Ram's left toe. It is believed when visiting the Raja Ram Darbaar if worshippers look at the left foot's big toe then their wish gets fulfilled.